Rescue Me
by DreamEscape16
Summary: "I carried you back home once...And I'll do it again," he declares in a rough voice, and then he hoists Steve's wounded body gently into his arms, straightening to his full height and securely locks his arms over his friend, carrying him towards a doorway. Bucky & Steve Post-WS.


**Rescue Me**

**All characters belong to Marvel Comics**

**I own nothing**

**{I chose to dedicate this one shot to all the fans of Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers}**

* * *

><p>"Steve!"<p>

The room fills with roaring flames. High levels crumble to the ground. Steve is coughing up a clot of blood; pain in his heaving chest subsides for a long moment; but the weight of the metal beam crushes against his ribs. Smoldering tears roll down his bruised cheeks; he tries to lift himself up; straining his heart and cracking his bones. He grits his teeth, blinking the red haze out of his watery blue eyes as he feels the numbness sear into his bones.

"I'm sorry..." the strangled words escape from splintered lips; he feels the strength draining from his body.

Suddenly his blue eyes latch on the door, the hinges creak, and the wood breaks as a leather strapped boot kicks it down. He blinks, clearing his vision and stared with longing eyes at the figure standing in the glow of firelight.

Regardless of the pain and grief, it felt good to meet deaden, pale azure eyes of a ghost. It was comforting to gaze into a face of a friend.

There he was, frozen in the doorway, his metal hand clutched the hard mask, and his flesh hand holds the goggles tightly.

He is fully dressed, in his Winter Soldier tactical armor that gave him a lethal and elusive appearance, the same black styled combat boots with straps that held knives, a Kevlar vest with automatic weapons attached to the straps crossed over his mid-section and torso. His shoulder-length brown hair is laden at his strong shoulders and draped over his intense wintry eyes. His youthful and rugged face held a permanent scowl.

"No," Steve hollers out a stained warning, blood mixes with saliva. He stares intently at his friend. "Get out of here, Bucky..."

"You're my mission!" the assassin yelled back, his full lips curling upward into a fierce snarl. His boots thumping over the charred floor boards, as he approaches the obstructed area. His pale blue eyes burn with intensity underneath dangling strands of hair that falls over his sharp cheekbones. His metal hand gripped the beam, and he positions into a firm stance, hoisting the piece up, clenching his jaw sharply as he releases a scream of anguish, cracking his bones. He doesn't give up.

"Bucky," Steve hoarsely says his voice fading. He feels his heart collapsing into the pit of his stomach. "Forget about me..."

"SHUT UP!" he roars, easing the structural beam off Steve's torso. He gnashes his teeth, using every ounce of his super-human strength to free his friend. He shakes his head and bites down on his bottom lip. He refuses to watch his blood brother die. He seethes out a monstrously, glaring down at the Avenger through the disheveled strands of hair which cloak over his face. "I will never forget you..." he blurts out roughly, and manages to throw the metal beam across the room, listening to the floor giving up underneath him. The wooden boards jut upwards and a huge hole forms as he chances a glare at the fiery depth below. "I made a promise to you..."

"I know, Buck," Steve replies curtly, his voice distorted and he looks up at his friend with teary eyes. The smoke clogs his lungs; he can barely catch a breath. He tries to raise his hand, blood smears over the tattered leather covering his knuckles. "This is my fault..."

Bucky's eyes become enraged, fighting against the emotions. "Steve...Stevie. It was never your fault. I acted stupid with my choices and now I have to set things right." He places his real hand firmly on the silver star in the center of Steve's dark navy and spangled uniform, and feels the heart beat weakening with each breath, his lifelong friend is dying, and he reaches an impasse.

He wrenches his eyes away, trying to hide his broken heart. "I never meant to do those things...I was lost and they made me become this..." he pauses in his words and then glowers with intent blue chasms at his metal alloy plated arm, the sharp clench of his jaw reveals the extreme hatred of his past. "...forsaken weapon!"

"Stop thinking like that, Buck," Steve sputters weakly, clamping his jaw tightly. Small flecks of maroon sprinkle of his paling lips, red lines trickle over his ashen skin, and he groans with discomfort swelling inside of him. "You're a good man...One of the best soldiers I have ever fought with...You're my best friend."

Bucky nods faintly, tears drench the tresses of hair, "You're my best friend too...Steven Rogers..." His voice cracks into a broken plea and his lowers his head down. "My best friend..."

He gently eases Steve's head up into his lap, setting his metal hand on the super-soldier's face. Everything becomes inferno; sparks ignite from loose wires, embers glow over compromised broads.

Flames swallow the room, but Bucky refuses to budge, he just stares at Steve. "Hang in there, pal," he says his voice into a comforting pitch. He scans through the haze systematically, and finds an exit point. "We're gonna to get out of here. I'll get you out of this hell. Alive. I trusted you to save my life and now my debt will be paid...My ledger will be cleared. Because you never gave up on me..."

Bucky sniffles, the waves of anguish become overwhelming for him to contain, but he catches a glimpse of Steve's crystal blue eyes shining with trust. He knows that he has a mission to finish. He nods, and slides his arm between the space of the hot floor and the soldier's back planes. "Listen to me, pal," he soothes, holding Steve steady against his body. "I'm not going to let you die...You're going to live...We'll spend a new life together. Just like we did in Brooklyn." he grits his teeth, his blue eyes never left Steve. "Don't you to die on me...Don't you dare leave me! Not now. Not ever! You're my brother and I would be lost without you..."

"I'm not dying, Buck," Steve forces out a breath, his eyes faintly shut. He places his trembling hand over Bucky's metal shoulder. He wants to give his friend hope again, but the iciness of pain crawls into his veins. He feels the defeat, and sighs out, deeply. "I'm just tired and I want to go back home...Back to our place in Brooklyn."

"Let's go home, Steve," Bucky curves his full lips into a brotherly smile, and he threads his fingers over Steve's short golden strands of hair, showing his big brother affection.

"I carried you back home once...And I'll do it again." he declares in a rough voice, and then he hoists Steve's wounded body gently into his arms, straightening to his full height and securely locks his arms over his friend, carrying him towards a doorway.

Steve's face drains from color, his skin turns to ice, but he somehow manages to wheeze out, "Thank God for you, Bucky Barnes..."

Bucky feels the pieces of his damaged heart mending back together, he watches a ghost of a smile forms over Steve's bloodied and pasty lips, and he knows that in spite everything that has happened to them for the years, war, pain and redemption. They always had each other's back whether in the shadows or light. They never gave up on each other because they are and always will be the two boys and soldiers from Brooklyn.


End file.
